Black Seed
by Mimola
Summary: The cultivation of success had finally been accomplished. A rarity among test subjects, May Saito had become the pride and joy of a dark and horrific organization.
1. Fifteen

Authors Note: I really hope you enjoy reading this story! Just a disclaimer that this is my first ever time writing something aside from school papers, etc., so feedback on my writing would be greatly appreciated! Again, thanks so much and enjoy!

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A life filled with peace and stability was a distant memory, one that she dearly missed. Images of people who once filled her soul with warmth faded and disappeared like water cascading down an endless drain, no way of ever being dredged up to remember what living truly felt like.

The life she had now was a dark abyss shrouded in thick fog. An abyss filled with irrationality and insanity. Fear of death was latched onto her like a tick on a deer, sucking away at any remaining shreds of happiness that were held deep within.

On this night, devoid of moon and stars, however, one thing seemed to be going her way. As she sprinted through the narrow alleyways of the city, feet splashing against the murky puddles scattered across the dark, crackling pavement beneath her. She chased someone who could give her some information that she had desperately tried to attain for many years. Information that could possibly shed light on this foggy and dark life of hers.

5 years earlier

May had just finished her last day of school before summer vacation and looked forward to the exciting days before her. She had just celebrated her fifteenth birthday and was mostly excited because her age meant that her parents would finally allow her to visit the city by herself. She had always been fascinated by everything in the city; the architecture, people, everything was bustling with life and color.

As she was thinking about her newfound freedom and the adventures she could take with it, she looked up and saw one of her friends dashing towards her from the front entrance of the school, a large grin being the focal point of her thin face,

"May! May! I have something to tell you! You're never gonna believe it!" Her friend shouted in delight with a sing-song voice, placing both her hands atop Mays' shoulders.

"Yeah? What is it?" May asked shyly as she scratched her cheek, curiosity getting the better of her.

"I heard from one of my friends in class-B that Daisuke has a big crush on you!~" her friend sang, "And he wants to hang out with you this weekend!"

Upon hearing her friends' news, May's excitement was accompanied by a slight feeling of anxiety. She was never one to know what to do in new social situations and hated feeling awkward in them. She was at a loss for how exactly she should respond.

"Oh…really? That's nice but-" May tried to say but was cut off by her friends' overpowering voice.

"Yeah it is!" Her thin-faced friend squealed, "And guess what? I already talked to him about it for you and he said he'd go to the movies with you on Saturday!"

"Oh. Uh…sure, I'll go. I mean if you've already gone to all the trouble to set it up for me then…why not?" May said, slightly reluctant. Her friend then released her grip on Mays' shoulders as May took a step backward onto the sidewalk in front of the schools' entrance gate.

"Awesome!" Her friend stated as she clapped her hands together and began to turn around, completely oblivious to Mays' reluctance, "I'll go tell him your answer, call me later?"

May gave a nod as her friend completely turned around on her heels and happily skipped away toward the gym where she knew Daisuke would be, ponytail swishing back and forth across her shoulder blades.

May watched for a few seconds before turning around herself and making her way to the small apartment she and her parents called home.

While on her way, she observed as other students and pedestrians made their way to their respective dwellings, talking of the days' activities or what they planned to do over the summer or what they were having for dinner that night. Most conversations she heard were no more than small talk.

Watching others always calmed May, she had found an interest in learning how people communicated ever since she was a small child. She could never truly feel like a part of a group in most situations, always staying on the sidelines and keeping to herself, there was always an air that she didn't fit in, always observing others instead of actually being with them. It always surprised her when she thought about the fact that she actually had friends with her aura of being shy and unfriendly.

Saturday evening soon rolled around and May had felt excitement and anxiety welling up inside of her.

The date was to start at around 6pm that night. May had found some simple joy in finding an outfit to wear and getting dressed up for the occasion. After some thought, she decided on wearing a lavender sundress that had thin straps and flowed down to just above her knees with plain white sandals. She did her light blonde hair in a french braid that ended at the back of her head and tied into a ponytail. She applied a light amount of mascara that made her green eyes pop out from beneath her bangs that were always in need of a trim.

At about quarter to 6, May decided to head out. She grabbed her phone off of her nightstand and her backpack from the floor, only containing her subway pass and a pair of sunglasses; which she wouldn't need, and dashed down the stairs.

"I'm heading out now, Mom!" She called from the front door, unsure as to if her mother had actually heard her or not. She decided it would be okay since her mother knew she would be leaving around this time anyway.

And with that she shut the thin, white door of her apartment and walked toward the subway station, excitement bubbling up as she saw the city skyline off in the distance.

The walk to the station was short, only taking a few minutes before coming to a stop in front of the large building. Throngs of people walked in and out as it was rush-hour. May stopped off to the side and rummaged through her backpack to grab her subway pass.

After a few seconds she took out her pass and made her way into the stream of people, hearing the drabble of everyday conversations and sounds of the screeching trains flow through her ears. She quickly walked up to the gate and slid the pass through the scanner, making her way through the gate as it beeped.

A few short minutes later she was on the platform headed for downtown, where the cinema was located. She suddenly felt even more excitement and anxiety as she realized her date would be starting very soon. As she was collecting her emotions, she looked up across the platform and noticed a man staring at her. She couldn't make out much of his appearance except that he wore a dark green hoodie and a worn out pair of blue jeans, on his feet were a muddy pair of sneakers.

The man gave her a bad feeling in her gut, her subconscious was telling her to forget the whole affair and just go home, but May disregarded it for pre-date jitters because maybe that man was trying to look at something behind her, maybe he needed to see a sign on the wall and she just happened to be standing in front of it. She didn't go see if there really was a sign, she honestly didn't want to know.

A few moments later, the platform was filled with the screeching sounds of the train as it made its way through the dark, concrete tunnel. Upon hearing the loud noises, she made her way closer to the edge, impatience filling her mind as she wanted to get out of the station as soon as possible.

About fifteen minutes later, May stood up from the uncomfortable, plastic seats of the train as it screeched to a stop. A monotonous voice signaled that the stop was for Downtown. Along with a few other people, May glided out of the train and made her way to the escalator just a few feet away.

Her feelings of fear had resided during the time on the train, and completely disappeared as she watched the city rise up in front of her and was lifted into the hustle and bustle of a Saturday night on the town.

The sky was painted with copious amounts of pinks and oranges, a fading blue was coated along the edges of the skyline. May stared in awe at the sight of it. Silhouettes of skyscrapers were plastered in front of the beautiful setting sun, as some lights were beginning to turn on for the night, the city floor was suddenly bathed in a faint yellow glow.

As she snapped out of her daze, May realized that she was a few minutes late and began to sprint towards the cinema only a couple of blocks away.

After a few minutes of running she noticed the lights had grown more distant and only the faint glow of dim streetlights was her guide. She was lost.

 _I must have missed a turn or something_. She thought to herself, gradually slowing to a stop in front of a small, dank alleyway. She realized the place she had now found herself definitely did not look very friendly.

She decided to take out her phone and search the location of the cinema, she obviously could not rely on her own sense of direction.

As she was rummaging through her backpack for a second time that evening, two large hands reached from the dark recesses of the alley and covered her eyes and mouth, only allowing her to let out a muffled scream, too quiet for anyone to hear but her assailant.

Before she could do anything to react, the attacker threw her against the hard and concrete wall of the alley like a rag doll. The impact left her lying on the rough ground while trying to catch her breath, the crash had knocked the wind out of her lungs. After a few moments she felt a surge of adrenaline pump through her veins as she tried to stand up and run away, but as soon as she tried she tumbled back onto the hard pavement. The surge of impact against the wall had broken her leg.

Waves of shock bounced around her head as she looked up into the dim lighting and realized that her attacker was the man from the subway platform. A plain black mask covering only the upper half of his gruesome face as a horrific smile contorted his mouth.

A strange mass began to form from the assailants' shoulder, twisting and turning around itself until it formed a sharp, pulsating blade. May's eyes widened in terror as she made the grave realization that this person was no ordinary attacker, it was a ghoul.

Laughter erupted from the ghouls' mouth as he took a few steps closer to May, who had tried to back away but was constricted by the decrepit crates and concrete walls surrounding her on either side, there was no escape. She was alone, she could see death creeping around the corners of her eyes as she stared up at the man.

As she took what she thought was her last look at the world and her short life, two bright lights swung out from around the alleyway and filled the small space with orange light. The light blinded May and the ghoul, who covered his eyes behind the mask with both hands and crouched to the pavement below.

After her eyes adjusted to the sudden burst of light, May realized that the two lights had come from car headlights.

The car skidded to a stop just a few inches away from her attacker, who had sidestepped quickly just in time before getting hit by the large mass of metal and plastic.

The car was of higher end quality and was pitch black in color, with bright orange headlights shining out in two thick rays. May heard the click sound of the passenger side door as it opened abruptly, revealing a tall man in a gray suit and black leather loafers. An emotionless expression fixed upon his face.

The man walked toward May, he looked and carried himself as though he was the type to be feared. This thought being correct as the ghoul who had previously been seconds away from killing her, sunk back in admission at the sight of the well-dressed man, who looked at him like he was nothing, just a stray piece of trash blown around by the wind.

Her body trembled as the tall man made his way towards her, closer and closer, until he was just a few inches from her small figure that was huddled against the side of the dingy concrete wall. His cheap cologne bombarding her nasal passages and burning her throat.

"A pleasure it is, May Saito. It's such a happy coincidence you stumbled into this part of town. Now our fun can start even sooner." The man sneered, shoving one hand into his suit pocket. A twisted smile had plastered itself onto his face.

May didn't even have enough time to wonder how and why this man knew her full name, something gnawed at the base of her skull, something was even more wrong than she could have ever imagined.

Slowly removing his hand from his coat pocket, the man opened his palm for a mere second to reveal what lied upon it. A small but sharp medicinal needle rested between his thumb and index finger.

The needle disappeared in the mans' rough hands before reappearing at the base of her inner elbow. The man grabbed hold of her arm before she could even react and shoved the small needle into her skin, releasing the contents into her bloodstream. The effects were nearly instantaneous.

May let out a small shriek before slumping to the dark pavement beneath her. The scene in front of her became engulfed in darkness, a darkness she had never experienced before.

A darkness she now wished was death.


	2. Seed

A colorless film wrapped itself around May's consciousness, her eyes were open but she couldn't register her surroundings, only faint and foggy splotches of pale color swirled around her.

She could only faintly hear the sharp clatter of metal against metal and the voices of people she didn't recognize.

It felt as if her mind and body had separated, as if she was not exactly a part of one or the other. A dull ache flowed through her body but resonated in her abdomen and chest, like she had been pounded with a hammer from the inside out. She was barely able to even recognize the pain as her own.

After a few minutes of being slightly conscious, an oval faced woman peered over her drowsy eyes, lids barely able to keep themselves open.

"Sir, she's waking up, what should we do?" The woman questioned to another person out of Mays' direct view, her facial features remained as dark stains in May's eyes.

"Administer another dose of anesthetic." A male voice replied curtly.

"But, sir…The experiment is almost complete, shouldn't we just let the first dose wear off? Who cares if she can feel it?" The female exclaimed, May had focused in on her face, a maniacal smile slithered across the once thin line of her mouth.

Her mind began to reclaim its hold on her body and her senses slowly began to sharpen.

An exasperated sigh and was heard from beyond her point of view, "Do whatever you want, as long as she doesn't wriggle, I've only got to bandage it up." The male voice said, annoyance framing his speech.

 _It? What does that mean? Where am I?_ May began to feel the dawn of realization wash over her, she began to jerk frantically but was stopped short by metal restraints locked on her wrists and ankles.

The pale splotches of color formed themselves into shapes, large rectangular lights were hung up on the white ceiling tiles. The walls were a faint blue in color and medical supplies adorned them.

She then shifted her focus to the two people standing adjacent to her.

One wore a surgical mask, she realized it was the person the male voice had belonged to. The other, the female, wore scrubs and her hair tied back in a low bun. Both had their eyes directly on May, they looked at her as if she was an insect.

A sheet of panic fit itself over her, its thickness making her feel like she was suffocating.

 _A hospital? But I wasn't in an accident…But…the movie theater? The…the…kidnapping?_ _Did they just say experiment?_ Thoughts flooded May's mind, ones that made sense and others that sounded completely insane, she wasn't an experiment. That was absurd, she must have just gotten into an accident and had a bit of amnesia, thats all, right? Denial.

Even as she tried to reason with herself, she remained frantically kicking and swatting in the cold and thick metal restraints, trying to break free of them.

Her attempts proved successful when one of the chains holding her leg in place snapped.

With one leg freed, she was able to put more force on the restraint on her other leg, after a few more moments, the metal chain snapped from the inertia.

May noted that she seemed to have gotten stronger, or maybe those were just some weak restraints. She still did have the remaining two clasped to her wrists to free herself from.

In the frenzy of erratic movement, the man and woman dressed in medical attire had little time to react, never imagining that the girl would be able to so easily break free from the strong, metal chains. It was a feat that no other test subject had ever accomplished.

The doctor mentally punished himself for making such an idiotic mistake and sprinted over to a stark white countertop, many different medical tools were strewn across its surface. He reached hurriedly for a syringe he knew was filled with a heavy sedative.

"Hold her down as best you can," he shouted to the female, who seemed to be frozen in panic.

Upon hearing the urgent voice of the doctor, the woman was knocked out of her daze and ran over to the girl. She grabbed hold of both of Mays' wrists just before the last remaining pull was needed for the chains to break.

To May's dismay, the doctor plunged the syringe into her arm.

For a second time, her attempts to get out of a troubling situation proved futile, ending in her slipping away to the abyss of unconsciousness once again. A foreign substance parading itself through her veins.

The abyss proved itself to be a new comfort in her life, May would have never known that in the near future, her unconsciousness would be the only peace she would find.

A seed of darkness had been planted into her, it was only time that it began to sprout.

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Authors Note: Thanks again for reading! I'll be updating again soon, especially since this chapter was pretty short. I'd definitely enjoy any feedback you'd like to give on my writing, it's be greatly appreciated! Have a great day, or night!


	3. Blood

A pair of hands was shaking her shoulders while a voice yelled for her to awaken. It sounded very child-like and kept repeating a very illogical question.

"Are you dead? Wake up, if you're not dead!" A boy shouted into her ears as he continued to jostle her.

May's eyes fluttered open and revealed a boy staring down at her, he looked to be no older than thirteen.

His face was so pale that if she had seen him asleep he would have resembled a corpse. Dark circles situated themselves beneath his blue eyes, like he hadn't slept in weeks. His light brown hair was matted and small amounts of blood were smeared on his face. He looked like a picture of death.

But even with his grim appearance, life swam inside the blue of his eyes, it almost made up for what else lacked in his face.

May opened her mouth to speak, but no words would come out. Instead, a sharp pain suddenly wracked her body, leaving her unable to move.

The boy noticed her pain, and with widened eyes, quickly shuffled over to a small white cabinet on the opposite wall of the room he and May were in.

Without moving, May strained her eyes to see what the boy was doing and noticed the cabinet was filled with medicines and needles. Why needles? Had her life now come to a place where a needle would be her only relief, the only way she could move forward from a situation?

He grabbed a small syringe and ran back to May, "It completes the healing process." He said matter-of-factly, like this had been an everyday occurrence for him.

A few minutes later, the medicine had taken effect. The sharp pain enveloping May's body was stifled to a mere dull ache. She sighed in relief and pushed herself up from the rough, tiled floor.

The room that she had found herself in greatly resembled that of a hospital. A clean white had washed itself over almost every surface, except the three small cots shoved into the far corners of the room. Devoid of any emotion or comfort. The frames of the cots were a rusted metal and tattered mattresses were casually lain across them. The beds were empty except for a small pillow on each one. There were no blankets or sheets, the bare minimum.

The boy noticed May's observations, "If you get more sponsors during the Games, the leaders will give you rewards and better accommodations," He said, while hopping onto the small cot.

May remained quiet, her voice was still gone, like it had gone into hibernation for the winter, and stayed in the far corner of the room, away from the rusted cots, the boy, and the cabinet filled with unsettling equipment. Her head felt like it was spinning, why was she even here? Why wasn't she at home, in her own bed, at her apartment with her mother and father? She couldn't even begin to register the strange things this boy was saying to her.

"My name's Masumi by the way!" The boy exclaimed, interrupting the cyclone of thoughts inside the older girls' mind.

May drew her focus in on the boy, Masumi. She was beginning to find him more and more puzzling. He seemed to be completely unfazed by everything that had just happened, like this was how he had grown up. Even the way in which he had woken her up was strange, he acted like it would have been no big deal either way, if she was alive or dead.

Masumi disregarded her silence and continued on talking to her, "I was eight when they brought me here but I don't know how long ago that was…When Akumi came here she said that it was winter but that was a long time ago too…My favorite season is fall because all the leaves change color, it's really cool! Don't you think so?" He asked, a faint smile had formed upon his disheveled face.

Somehow Masumi's ramblings had relaxed May down to the point where she could finally speak, her voice crawling out of its cave as spring approached, hibernation ending.

"…Yeah, I…like fall too." She croaked, although her voice sounded like it had gone through the garbage disposal and was shredded to a million tiny pieces.

The brown-haired boy's eyes lit up at her entering his mini conversation, "What's your name?" He asked as his legs began to swing back and forth off the side of the cot.

"It's May. Who's…Akumi?" She questioned, leaning her shoulder against the stark white wall.

"Akumi is assigned to this room, but it was _her turn_ today, that's why she isn't here right now." He explained, his tone taking a more ominous route.

As if on queue, the door of the small, white room swung open. It revealed a young girl on the other side, followed by a large man with his face covered in an ominous, plain black mask. May pieced together that the girl must have been Akumi.

The large man pushed the girl into the room aggressively, and then abruptly slammed the door. The sound of many locks could be heard on the opposite side as they turned, allowing no passage.

The girl, who from the impact of the push, had fallen to the ground on her back. She lay there a few moments with a distant look on her face, almost as if she was watching a movie on the ceiling above, paying no attention to the other two people in the room.

Her clothing, which was the same as May and Masumi, a gray jumpsuit with short-sleeves that resembled a prison uniform, was covered in splatters of crimson blood. Her hair that was so blonde it could be mistaken for a white color, was also matted with dried blood. She looked as if she had walked through a horrific war zone.

May had to look twice as she thought the girl had been wearing deep red gloves, only to realize that her hands were completely soaked in even more blood. Blood was everywhere on the girl.

A wave of nausea hit May at the sight of the newcomer, a metallic stench overpowered the dry and stale air of the room. As the smell filled her nostrils, May began to think the aroma smelled strangely good, an inviting scent. Fear rushed over her like ice water, _Why would I think blood smells good? What the hell is happening here?_ She thought.

To add to May's horror, the girl, Akumi, raised one of her blood-soaked hands to her mouth and began to lick it clean. She groomed herself like a cat, removing all the blood that stained her skin with her tongue.

After several minutes, Akumi raised herself from the tiled floor, finally noticing Mays' presence.

"Oh, Masumi!~" She sang, "You didn't say there was a new girl here!" Her voice was laced with insanity, a sadistic smile wrapped itself around her mouth.

"I never said anything." The boy replied.

Akumi then pranced over to where May was leaning against the wall, "I would've saved some of my leftovers for you," She exclaimed while holding up one of her previously bloody hands, "You look pretty hungry!~"

May reigned her fear in, this girl was obviously crazy. But even so, Akumi's last statement left her perplexed.

"What do you mean?" May asked to the girl, who's face was only inches away from her own, the insane smile still strong upon her otherwise soft features.

Akumi's appearance was almost the same as Masumi's; deathly pale with harsh dark circles beneath her brown eyes.

May felt as if the room had dropped fifty degrees as a shudder fell through her body. A feminine voice broke the stark silence.

"Why don't you see for yourself." Akumi giggled while fiercely grabbing Mays wrist, and pulled her towards the small cabinet perched on the wall.

Inside the cabinet, along with a plethora of syringes and medicines, was a small mirror, which Akumi seized from the second shelf. Masumi tried to stop the girl, but was too slow. A look of sadness had washed over his once calm face.

May stood behind Akumi, frozen in place at the actions of the other girl.

The blonde turned around, almost as if she was dancing, and situated the small mirror directly in front of Mays' face.

Upon seeing her own face, May sank to the floor, a low sob wracked her body. The reflection that stared back at her was not the girl she had seen every morning while brushing her teeth, or while in the bathroom at school. This person was completely different, a monster.

What looked back at her was her normal face, but one eye was replaced with a monstrosity. Her right eye was not her eye. Her once green iris was replaced with an ominous red, while the sclera was a pitch black.

A kakugan.

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Authors Note: Thanks so much for reading!


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